The musings of a politically incorrect dinosaur from a forgotten age where civility was the rule rather than the exception.

Webster

The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions." --American Statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Race is on to build the Concorde replacement

I saw this in one of my overseas newspapers that I read and since I like all things airplane i posted it.

Plans for a supersonic jet that may be able to fly from London to Sydney, Australia in just four hours is expected to be unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show next month, according to the Mail Online.
The Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream, with help from NASA, are leading the way in the race to build the prototype successor to the Concorde, and the companies believe they may be close to reducing the sonic boom challenge as well, the story said. The Concorde’s loud sonic boom forced it to fly routes away from land. It last flew in November 2003. The supersonic plane was operated by British Airways and Delta joint venture partner Air France.
The prototype, codenamed X-54, will initially be targeted to the business jet market, mainly European and Middle East buyers, under the slogan, ‘To the USA and back in a working day,’ the story said.
The aircraft seats 12 and is expected to cost $80 million each.

Contents

Initiated during 2008, the X-54 project is intended to produce an experimental aircraft capable of supersonic speeds.[1] The X-54A is intended to produce test data on sonic boom effects in support of future supersonic transport design and regulation.[2] Current regulations prohibit supersonic flight over land areas in the United States; the X-54 is part of Gulfstream's efforts to have the regulations altered to allow for supersonic transports to be commercially viable.[3]
The X-54A is being developed by Gulfstream Aerospace and is intended to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Tayturbofan engines.[1] Although the aircraft has received an 'X' series designation in the U.S. Department of Defense's Mission Designation System at the request of NASA,[4] neither the U.S. military nor NASA is currently involved in the project.[1]
Although Gulfstream has made little comment about the X-54A project,[5] at the 2008 National Business Aviation Association convention a Gulfstream executive stated that Gulfstream's work on advanced technologies for supersonic flight had been ongoing "for some time" and that a "complete airplane designed for low [sonic] boom" would possibly "have X-54 painted on the side of it."[6]
The X-54A may be connected to Gulfstream's "Sonic Whisper" program, trademarked in 2005 as an aircraft design to "reduce boom intensities during supersonic flight."[5] Some sources claim that the X-54A is based on the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter;[7] this conflicts with the description of the aircraft by the DOD.[1]

The race to build a successor to Concorde: Boeing, Gulfstream and Nasa join forces to create a supersonic jet capable of flying from London to Sydney in FOUR HOURS

Aircraft enthusiasts are waiting with growing anticipation for the unveiling of plans for a supersonic jet that may be able to fly London to Sydney in just four hours. U.S. builders - helped by the Nasa space agency - will reveal the prototype successors to Concorde at the Farnborough air show next month.Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream are leading the way to build the new supersonic passenger plane which will be targeted at first at the business jet market.

Artist's impression of the new supersonic commercial passenger aircraft which will fly at speeds of 2,500 mph

All three companies believe they are close to reduce the sonic boom to a sound described by a Gulfstream engineer last week as 'closer to a puff or plop'.He said: 'The fact that the big boys are all close confirms industry rumours that a new generation of supersonic planes is now, finally, within reach.

Lighter composite material, more advanced engines and smaller fuselages could enable new jets to travel about twice as fast as Concorde, which flew at up to 1358mph, according to the Sunday Times.Passengers will travel at speeds of more than 2,485mph, allowing them to cruise in luxury from London to Sydney, just over 12,000 miles away.Currently, the fastest subsonic executive jet, Gulfstream's new G650, can fly 7,000 miles at a 646mph and has a top speed of just 704mph.

Iconic: The British Airways Concorde which began flying passengers at supersonic speed in 1976

HOW CONCORDE RULED THE SKIES

The first Anglo-French Concorde entered service in 1976 and flew for 27 years.

It cut the usual 8-hour journey to New York to three and a half hours.

Only 20 were ever built, but the sleek droop nose aircraft quickly became an iconic symbol around the world.

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, crashed in Gonesse, France, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board the flight, and four people on the ground.

But its successor , codenamed X-54, will 'prove that an aircraft can be shaped for low sonic boom', reports Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.It will be 'sketched out' at Farnborough along with other supersonic prototypes, say show executives.Last January, NASA released images of a test plane in a wind tunnel which suggested the sonic boom could be virtually silenced using super-thin wings and hidden engines.Robert Bass, a Texas hedge fund trader, has banked 50 $200,000 deposits for his company's Aerion SBJ supersonic jet after enlisting Nasa's help - even though no delivery dates have been set. The 12-seat planes are expected to cost $80m each and are being marketed to European and Middle East buyers under the slogan, 'To the USA and back in a working day.'The challenge is not just technical: builders have to prove to politicians that the supersonic jets will be acceptable to the public. Concorde's loud boom forced it onto to routes away from land and damaged its commercial chances. It flew for the last time in November 2003

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